Kia Partners with Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP) at the University of California Irvine (UCI)

Kia Motors America (KMA) and Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. have expanded their partnership with the Advanced Power and Energy Program (APEP) at the University of California, Irvine(UCI).  Kia will provide six Soul EVs to help develop Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) advanced smart charging software algorithms and support grid resource operation.

What is V2G?
V2G battery electric vehicles (BEV) and plug-in hybrids (PHEV) to communicate with the power grid for bi-directional power flow while being grid-connected. This enables the vehicles to serve as energy storage to help manage energy demand.

“Grid-connected electric vehicles offer tremendous potential in terms of energy storage and dispersion during high-demand periods, and Kia is excited to collaborate with APEP in the study and development of advanced smart grid technologies,” saidOrth Hedrick, vice president of product planning, KMA.  “Kia’s green car roadmap calls for a dramatic expansion of electrified vehicles over the next five years, and we are proud of the role the Soul EV will play in helping UCI’s students and faculty develop new and better advanced smart charging technologies.”

UCI intends to demonstrate and evaluate the Soul EVs tol increase understanding of how BEVs are managed on the electric grid. In addition, this test program will help predict BEV and PHEV charging behavior and further understanding of their impact on the grid.